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Chrysler Arbitration Score: 73 to 32

That's 73 wins for Chrysler, 32 wins for its rejected dealers. This is pretty much how the 105 arbitration cases ended, and with them the hope of a revival for the rejected dealers. As you might have imagined, Chrysler is pleased with the outcome, but it would have rather see all 105 dealerships rejected.

"The decisions to select dealers for the company's optimized dealer network were carefully considered as part of Chrysler's Genesis Project,” Chrysler said in a statement cited by Autonews.

“The decisions of a great majority of the arbitrators reflect the belief that the company's dealer network decisions were not only appropriate but essential to its future success.”


The outcome could have, and should have been different though, had the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) report had been made public a few weeks earlier. This is, at least, how some lawyers of the dealers see things.

The SIGTARP found that both Chrysler and GM were rushed into closing their dealerships by the Auto Task Force.

“Chrysler had absolutely no proof that dealership closing would save Chrysler a nickel,” lawyer Mark Ornstein told Autonews.

“Had this report been available at arbitration, I believe all the dealers would have been successful in arbitration. All Chrysler relied upon was unproved theory and tried to dress it up as fact. It was the king's new clothes.”

The other American manufacturer who went through arbitration this month, GM, is expected to make the results public sometime next week. About the same percentage outcome is expected in GM's case as well.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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